At those words, Duke threw off his gas mask and gritted his teeth hard enough to make them grind. Then, with a grating metallic screech, he answered.

“Yeah, you son of a bitch. I wanted to see you so fucking badly.” 

“I wanted to see you too. I was curious what kind of bastard you were.”

“Is that so? Same here.”

There was no falsehood in the murderous exchange. Just as Duke had wanted to see me, I had wanted to see his face. I was curious about the malignant tumor of the Academy who had made Roselia suffer so miserably.

It was a moment I had somewhat anticipated, yet strangely, I felt no particular thrill. He looked exactly as stupid as I had expected, and his movements were full of openings. Just a typical, oversized idiot. Nothing more, nothing less.

If there was anything impressive about him, it was his sheer size. He was much larger and thicker than I had imagined. I had once heard a rumor about a noble’s illegitimate child at the Academy who was abnormally large but suffered from intellectual disabilities, and I wondered if that was him.

Meanwhile, Duke was also scanning me up and down. He stared at my lower half with bizarre intensity, but he seemed to have formed a similar impression of me. Neither more nor less—just as expected. Now that we had lost interest in each other, it was time to get down to business.

“Where’s Roselia?”

“Figured you’d ask that. I don’t know, idiot. She bolted somewhere on her own while I was looking away.”

“Sounds like Roselia. So you’re looking for her now?”

“Yeah. That bitch.”

They weren’t as close as I thought, it seemed. I didn’t even laugh at Duke’s situation, having been ditched so quickly. Even he seemed to find it absurd, scratching his head and letting out a sigh.

“So you’re looking for Roselia too?”

“I told you I was. So I don’t actually care about you.”

“Ah, right. Then how about this? Instead of fighting each other, we just look for Roselia together. How about it?”

“You want to join hands now?”

“In a situation like this, whose side is there to take?”

Duke glanced at me with a slightly tense expression. I fell into thought for a moment before raising my eyes slightly.

“What will you do once you find Roselia?”

“What do you mean, what will I do? I’m going to tear that fucking bitch apart.”

“Then I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

“Is that so… fucking bitches and bastards, I swear…”

At my words, he clenched his thick fist as if fed up. I too steadied my breathing and raised my sword. As our eyes met, Duke spoke once more.

“…Hey. But I want to ask you one thing.”

“What.”

“Are you… really an Elf?”

“…”

I never expected the fallout of the misunderstanding from that day to reach all the way here. For a brief moment, a naive curiosity dwelled in Duke’s eyes. If it weren’t for his past actions, I might have thought he was a rather childlike fellow.

…Of course, it was far too late for either of us to reclaim our innocence now.

Without a moment to spare lamenting my own situation, I gripped my blood-stained sword. Then, I charged at my classmate with everything I had.

Sliding down the hallway as I ran, Duke’s face was suddenly right in front of me. As the distance closed rapidly and our spaces collided, he seemed utterly panicked, spitting out a curse.

“You crazy…!”

“…”

Panicking, Duke swung his fist clumsily, uselessly grazing the top of my head. His movements had far too many openings, and his trajectory was painfully obvious. The price for that fatal mistake was, naturally, a blade plunging into his wrist.

But the next sound that rang out was not the squelch of slicing flesh, but the sharp crack of solid metal colliding. 

Clang!

“…!”

“You son of a bitch. Did you think I wouldn’t prepare for that?”

In that unexpected situation, Duke’s rough shout rang out. Before I could even withdraw my sword, he grabbed my throat with a brutal grip. My vision blurred instantly, and my consciousness began to fade under the sheer, brute force of his strength.

At this rate, I would undoubtedly pass out helplessly. Duke continued to choke me while grabbing my wrist, and right before I blacked out, I kicked him in the groin with all my might. Only then did he scream and throw my body down the far end of the hallway.

“Ayuk!”

“Keok…!”

The world flipped upside down in an instant, and the floor slammed brutally against my back. After rolling on the ground for a while, I barely regained my senses, but even after standing up, I couldn’t stop hacking violently.

“Keuhek…! Cough…”

“Ayuk… eu… yeah. Didn’t expect that, you son of a bitch, did you?”

“Haa… euk…”

When I raised my head, he was smacking his arm confidently with his hand. Seeing how abnormally thick his arm was, it seemed he had padded something like an iron plate under his clothes. Roselia probably helped him forge it. It was undoubtedly a crude piece of work, but at least it was perfectly effective.

In the meantime, he had picked up a club from somewhere and started walking toward me. A sliver of confidence was woven into his sluggish steps.

“Were you panicked? Huh? I asked if you were a little panicked!”

“Euk…!”

Duke swung the club threateningly, shattering the hallway windows and sending sharp fragments flying in all directions. Even then, I was still hacking violently, barely managing to step back. As I stumbled, collapsed, and even rolled on the floor to dodge his attacks, his momentum only grew stronger.

“You fucking bastard, I thought you were something special! You ain’t shit!”

“Cough… euk…”

“You’re nothing. You hear me? You’re absolutely nothing!”

“Hah…”

Listening to that nonsense he was shouting so proudly, something flared up inside my chest. They were words I could have simply let slide, yet I kept feeling the urge to argue back. What makes you so great that you sent your underlings instead of coming yourself? I almost blurted out that ugly retort.

How strange. I had never felt this way before. I couldn’t understand why I was suddenly feeling like this. Had the emotional rift Saya carved into my heart been wider than I thought? The feeling of competitiveness was beginning to rear its head, little by little.

…No.

Maybe it was just because a bastard who was truly nothing was running his mouth.

Before I knew it, I was gritting my teeth. It seemed my hatred for him had been steadily building without me noticing. Irritation. Anger. Disgust. The byproducts of my sleepless nights kept surging up to the back of my throat.

“Die!”

“…!”

As I was floundering in those bizarre emotions, his club came swinging straight at me. Right before that brutal attack shattered my skull, I barely managed to raise my sword. Soon, the sword and club collided, sending a violent shockwave vibrating through my elbow.

“Eueuk!”

“I said die! Fuck!”

Perhaps thinking it was practically over, he yelled like an idiot and slammed his club down multiple times. Twice, three times, four times, the bone-rattling impacts rang out, and at the final moment, I had to drop to one knee to block it. Then, he pressed down on my sword with all his might and spoke with an air of triumph.

“How’s that… getting the picture now?”

“…”

“Cat got your tongue? Scared you’re going to die?”

“…Hah.”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips before I knew it. My irritation was now surging to a point where I could clearly feel it myself. It seemed I was genuinely pissed off by his antics.

But his strength was undeniably formidable, so he continued to press down on my sword. If I lost this contest of strength, I would end up with my throat slit by my own blade, like a villain in a cheap play. Seemingly thinking the same thing, he unleashed his monstrous strength and spat out his final words.

“Die!!!”

…

But this wasn’t some cheap play. Instead of stupidly continuing the contest of strength, I slightly twisted my wrist and let his club slide off. As the club he had been pushing so hard on uselessly struck the floor, Duke’s jaw dropped.

And without missing that moment, I struck his exposed throat fiercely with my pommel.

“Ugeuk…!”

“…”

As the precisely targeted spot caved in, Duke staggered back with a choked gasp. It was almost funny watching him jump in surprise, eyes wide, hacking and coughing. Yet, his resilience hadn’t gone anywhere; when I raised my sword, he tried to somehow defend himself with his club.

But I grabbed the handle and the blade with both hands, easily pushed the club aside, and thrust the sharp tip of my sword into Duke’s armpit. Then, before he could regain his senses, I kicked him hard in the chest.

“Eugeuk…!”

“…Euk.”

Then, a solid metallic sensation rang through the sole of my foot, as if I had just kicked the bare floor. As expected, he had wrapped metal around his stomach area too. Was that why his movements had been slightly sluggish? It was clear that Roselia had prepared him quite thoroughly.

Even so, Duke tried to lift his club with both hands to block my movements. But because I had struck his tendons precisely, one of his arms hung limp, independent of his will. Naturally, the club he was holding fell to the floor as well.

“Y-You son of a bitch…”

“…”

“Don’t come any closer, you bastard!”

The outcome was already decided, but Duke couldn’t accept it and swung his fist. Of course, the trajectory from his unbalanced stance was utterly clumsy, and I dodged it naturally before slamming my bare fist into his nose. The refreshing sound of bone breaking echoed through the air.

“Keuheok!”

“Had enough?”

“Y-You… fuck…ing…!”

Even then, he refused to admit defeat and snapped his head up, so this time I kicked the back of his knee hard. With the accurate strike, his massive body floated in the air for a second before he fell ungracefully. Only then did Duke sense his impending defeat and began to crawl backward.

“Eu… eueu…”

“Go. Go quickly.”

“Eueuk! Uwaaaak!”

And I followed behind him, stabbing his thigh with my sword. Every time I stabbed him, dark red streams of blood spurted out, and his legs lost more strength. By the time we reached the top of the stairs, he barely had the strength to crawl.

Even so, Duke thrashed desperately and reached out toward the stairs. But I didn’t even allow that final resistance, and shoved his back hard. Thus, he began to tumble down the stairs with his entire body, not just his hands.

“Aak! Ak! Euaaak!”

“…”

“Eok! Uueok! Eoeok…!”

“…”

“Ek… aak…!”

Going down stairs is much faster by rolling than by walking. That newly realized fact piqued a pointless interest. Before long, Duke was trembling far below. I wondered if he was dead, but his vitality was quite tenacious. The sight of him slowly gasping for breath was still visible.

He looked too weak to even let out a groan now, but Duke stubbornly distanced himself from me. The place his crawling hands reached was another set of stairs. If he fell down them again, he would surely die this time, so he somehow grabbed the wall and stood up.

Of course, I had no intention of allowing that, so I immediately walked over to the stairs. And I kicked the stomach of the bastard who had barely managed to stand once again.

“Eok…!”

Soon, with a futile gasp, Duke’s breath hitched as he fell backward. As if time were slowing down, his massive body slowly plummeted toward the stairs. If he fell like this, it would truly be the end.

Therefore, he reached forward to grasp the last thread of his life. If there was a god who sprinkled mercy regardless of human malice, he would grant one final hope. That flimsy belief moved Duke’s fingers.

Then, surprisingly, something solid caught his desperate fingertips. Its exact identity was unclear, but Duke embraced his earnest heart and grabbed that rod of salvation. For a very brief moment, the bright light of hope dwelled in his eyes.

But it was the sharp blade I had extended toward him.

“Ah…”

“…”

“L… Lope…”

Blood trickled down from his desperately grasping hand. The weight of Duke’s body added to the sharply angled blade, causing the wound in his hand to deepen rapidly. It was an ironic twist that the hand of a death row inmate begging for final mercy had grasped the hangman’s rope.

Even so, Duke clung to that blade with a death grip. Now, it wasn’t the wound but the flowing blood that made his grasping hand slip constantly. I looked into his eyes, where terror and desperation were intertwined.

“Euk… euk… euk… k…”

“…”

“Lope… please… please…”

“…”

“Please… you son of a bitch…”

Perhaps sensing his fate, he spat out a curse. I too realized that it was time to end Duke’s time. With those final words, I lightly pulled back the trapped sword.

“Get lost.”

“You fucking piece of shit!!!”

With a final scream, Duke tumbled down the stairs. Even while his body was suspended in the air, he continued to curse my name until the very end.

“Lope! Lope!!!”

“…”

“Fuck… keuhek… euk!!!”

“…”

“Keok…!”

Along with the dull thud of impact, a breathless gasp escaped as his pulse seemed to abruptly stop. Having plummeted to the very bottom of the Academy, the guy twitched on the floor before going completely limp. 

“Eoeok… eok…”

But that tenacious life was still breathing faintly. So I too persistently followed him down the stairs and stood beside him. Then, I pressed my knee down against his continuously escaping breath.

“Euk… eoeok…!”

As I mounted his stomach, Duke vomited thick blood and opened his eyes again. It seemed he had far too many unatoned sins to cross the threshold of death just yet.

“Wake up. You’re still conscious.”

“You son of a…!”

“What. Looks like you don’t have the luxury to run your mouth anymore.”

At my words, he looked at me with eyes full of fear rather than anger. Just then, the voices of the people surrounding us reached my ears.

“What… what is this! Lope…? Who is that guy?”

“…Oh my god. It’s Duke.”

“Duke…? Duke? That… that bastard?”

“Really? No way…”

Why were they still hanging around here? I guess they didn’t have the courage to leave after all. But it didn’t matter. The more spectators there were, the less lonely Duke would be.

“Lope… you…!”

“Shut up.”

“Keuhek! Eok!”

“Drop your arms.”

“Eok! Eoeok! Eoeoeok!”

Perhaps he still had some strength left to resist, as he twisted his body, desperate to survive. I slapped him across the face and looked around. Then, a mop head lying on the dirty floor caught my eye. I didn’t know why only the head was there without the handle, but it seemed perfect for shutting his mouth.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, I swiftly snatched the mop head. And I shoved it into the mouth of the bastard who kept resisting.

“Uuuueuk!”

“Stay still.”

“Uueuk! Uuuueuk!”

But it was quite large, and because he kept resisting, it didn’t go in properly. When would this tenacious life finally end? The sight of him thrashing around was almost funny, but I was also getting sick of it.

“Do you ever pass out?”

“Euk… auueuk…!”

“You stubborn bastard…”

“My god. It really is Duke.”

Just then, someone’s sigh of relief came from the side. It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling a sliver of liberation at this moment. 

“Yeah. It’s that bastard.”

“That son of a bitch. Serves him right.”

“Damn bastard… son of a bitch…”

“Just die already. Tenacious bastard.”

Curses. Sobs. Profanities. Every conceivable negative reaction was pouring down on him. Some people threw things, others screamed as if venting their rage. Anyone would have felt a sense of self-loathing by this point, but Duke kept struggling to spit out the mop in his mouth until the end.

“Uueok… eok… eok…”

“Stop it. Enough.”

“Eok… eo…”

Eventually, his eyes slowly began to lose focus. It was clear that he would breathe his last even if left alone, so I slowly began to release my hands. A suffocating sound began to echo from his throat, as if his tongue was drying up.

“Aaaaaak!”

“…!”

But right then, hurried footsteps rushed toward us. And before I could even react, a heavy brick fell and shattered Duke’s head.

“…!!!”

“Damn it…!”

“Haa… haaak…!”

I jumped in surprise, pulling my hands away and looking to the side. A girl with an incredibly exhausted face was backing away before collapsing on the spot. She was panting, covered in Duke’s blood all over her body.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

“…”

“Haa… haa… this… this son of a bitch…”

“…”

“Haa… aheuk…”

“Sis…!”

Soon, a boy approached from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. Only then did the girl’s tears well up, and she buried her face in her own embrace. The sobs that had been suppressed for a long time spread throughout the hallway.

“Heuk… heuheuk… you… you son of a bitch… heu heu heuk…”

“Sis…”

“Euheuk… heuk… euheuk… Ed…”

There was no way to know if those were tears of satisfaction or a sign of futility. All I could do was leave the space so they could comfort each other’s emotions. As I stood up, the many people standing around me moved with me.

“Lope…”

“…Erika?”

Just then, Erika approached me and gently grabbed my lapel. Only then did I question why so many people were still here. 

“Didn’t you leave? Are you still evacuating?”

“We were in the middle of a conversation. And more importantly, Ms. Rebecca…”

“What about Ms. Rebecca?”

“She said she had something to tell you. The noise was too loud so I couldn’t hear well, but I’m sure she mentioned something about the Anbert family…”

“…”

The Anbert family. A wave of anxiety washed over me at that single word. Did something happen to the ship? Just as I was about to rack my brain, Ms. Rebecca’s voice cut in. 

“Lope!”

“Ms. Rebecca.”

“Haa… huu…”

As soon as she came inside, she threw down her gas mask and exhaled a cloud of steam with a hiss. Seeing the gray smoke rising instead of a sigh only made my anxiety grow larger. Ms. Rebecca caught her breath for a long while before calling my name once again.

“…Lope.”

“Yes.”

At my response, she twisted her lips as if hesitating. Then, she uttered a single sentence that sounded ominous no matter when you heard it.

“We have a problem. It seems the ship arrived faster than we thought. Or… wait. Where is Saya?”

“What? Saya went with Haru to find Roselia…”

I answered out of habit before trailing off. Come to think of it, even though I had rummaged through the Academy with Duke, I didn’t remember smelling that rich fragrance of forget-me-nots even once. 

An aura, like the precursor to a disaster, lingered in Ms. Rebecca’s eyes. She let out a deep sigh and spoke with a heavy voice.

“We have to find her. Right now.”